Moving airplane to airport

I am very close to moving my project out of the garage to an airport hanger. I am contemplating using a tow service rollback wrecker for transport. How should fuselage be secured for transport? Should HS be removed or is it okay to leave it on? If left, what about securing elevators so they do not move? What have others done?

Thanks
N570RV

Allan Stern said:

I am very close to moving my project out of the garage to an airport hanger. I am contemplating using a tow service rollback wrecker for transport. How should fuselage be secured for transport? Should HS be removed or is it okay to leave it on? If left, what about securing elevators so they do not move? What have others done?

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Take off the empennage, wheel pants, fairings, etc. Strap it down generously using nylon cargo straps with the landing gear or wheels, engine mount maybe, tail tiedown if you are a nosedragger type. I used a trailer and drove very slowly to the airport early one Saturday morning. Truck ought to work. Just go slow. Seemed like even average road (around here) bounced and jarred my plane pretty severely.

Taildragger caution...

This is probably totally obvious to many, but when we moved mine (on a flatbed trailer), I had all the tail feathers removed. We started down the road, and I immediately saw that the tailwheel spring was moving quite a bit on the aft bulkhead - that is when I realized that the lower Vertical tail spar bolts hold not only the spar, but the aft flange of the tailwheel mount to the rear bulkhead...Duh!!!

We stopped and put those bolts in - I suspect that much driving without them could have caused some damage....

(I borrowed the trailer from a friend who collects/restores antique fire trucks - plenty big enough for an RV, and it reminds me how easily we can buy parts for our machines!)

Paul

Allan Stern said:

..... I am contemplating using a tow service rollback recker for transport. How should fuselage be secured for transport?.....What have others done?...

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The "Budget" guy had all the ropes, shackles, etc. needed to secure the airplane. He asked for a picture since mine was the first airplane he ever moved.

Wings?

How did everyone transport the wings? I suppose that a moving truck could be used.

I got this car moving fellow in Houston to move the fuselage. They have moved several RV's and specialize in moving exotic cars. The wings were moved in a covered UHaul Truck where they were secured very well with tie down straps and padding. The wings arrived at the airport several weeks prior to the fuselage. By the time the Fuselage went the plane was painted and ready for final assembly. As you can see by the date on the photo it was moved to the airport on the 17th of January. The plane was assembled and inspected by the DAR on 2 February. Moral to the story: Do as much as you can at your primary building site. Once you get to the airport it is a hassle to find that you need some tool (that is at home) to do something. By the time the plane was finished I think it had been put together about 100 times and taken apart 99. (A slight exaggeration but that was the feeling.)

Moving an 8

I just moved my 8 via a 19' roll back and it worked fine. No tail feathers. The plane was rolled up tail first so it would fit onto the bed. I used a nylon strap over the tail and forward fuse. Next time I would run the forward strap through the spar box on top of a 1x4. The thought of my windshield separating from my 821 skin frightened me the whole 45" tow. Not a good sight as it bounced to the airport. Arrived in fine shape. Just make sure you tie fore and aft straps on the landing gear to prevent axial movement. PICs coming.

FWIW, make sure the canopy is secure. Look for little items such as the bolts that secure the roller wheels to the frame.

A few weeks ago, I saw the remains of a 9A canopy that blew off on the freeway. The frame was hammered, but surprisingly, just a few big chunks came out of the canopy, instead of a thousand little pieces!

In this case, the foward skin was not installed, which allowed a rush of air under the canopy. The "slider" canopy was locked, but apparently those above mentioned bolts were not yet installed.

how about DIY

A trailer, some stout lumber, and plenty of tiedowns. Wasn't able to actually push the airplane up the ramp, had to attach webbing straps to the bottom of the main gearlegs and winch it up on the trailer.
Repeat trips for wings.
Drive slowly.

Nose Dragger? Tail Dragger.

Alan, I can't find any reference to whether your aircraft Tailwheel is on the back or one of those funny ones with it on the front. Very different trucking propositions.

When I had my RV-7 QB ready for the painters, I removed the prop, but left the HS and VS on. I put two 20 litre containers of water (20KG to a college Prof) in the baggage compartment for ballast.
I hired the local tow truck service flatbed truck.
The aircraft was secured by ropes through the Woodend blocks Vans inserted in the Spar box for transport. It bounced all over the back of the truck because of the flex in the tires and gear. Not a good way to secure an RV.

For the journey from the painters to the airfield we loaded it nose first and put the main gear in the chocks used for securing autos. Didn't move aan inch, though the tailwheel still bounced a lot.
Good luck,
Pete.

I towed my RV4 fuselage, complete with everything, on its own wheels approximately 5 miles over two lane country roads from my house to the airport, behind my 1996 Ford Explorer. A good friend of mine drove behind me with his hazard flashers on. No problems. At idle speed in first gear, my Explorer cruised at about 15 mph, pulling the fuselage as if it wasn't even there. I made an adapter which I strapped to my tail rod which rigidly held the tail onto the standard hitch ball. This was 170 logged flying hours ago and I have had no problems. I would advise doing this early in the morning on a Saturday or Sunday when people aren't commuting to work.

Move To Airport

I was concerned about tying the airplane down anywhere except the landing gear. I used some "Uni Strut" to make a cage around the main gear tires that could be tied down. The cage has vertical legs that contact the top of the wrecker bed and keep the cage from rolling and hitting the brake lines. The nose gear leg was tied down also and it rode like that with no problems.

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Thanks to all whom have replied

Thanks for all the good ideas as to how to transport my plane to airport. I now have a much better grasp on what will need to be done. Hanger space is very limited in this area so I will have a spot in a large hanger to put the pieces on. She is an RV 6A quickbuild and I will also have a small room to store tools and parts and stuff in while the final assembly is done. I have that nightmare where you drive a distance to the airport only to find you need a tool and have to go back home.